Vanagon Coolant Assist Pump?

[orion]

I have heard of a secondary pump being installed on the coolant lines of a to help with coolant flow during idle/traffic and after an overheat situation. Anyone familiar with this modification?

[ricksvw]

Hmmmm, I have never heard of it?
Moslty in my many vans I have had, you shouldn't overheat if all is running right.
There are a few things to check, almost every van I have bought needed a new radiator to solve all the overheating issues! Could be your high speed fan not working?

Sounds like this pump may just be used to cover up an existing problem.

Is your van overheating?

[Jim]

My VW Eurovan had one... and needed it as that 5 cylinder Audi engine ran super hot. I could imagine someone using that aux pump for other vehicles.

But, if you are having cooling issues make sure your fan switch is operating correctly, mine was bad and would only come on when the van sat in traffic and got into the red zone on the temp guage. The fan should come on well before the red or you have a bad temp switch.
You could also have old clogged radiator or just a bubble in the cooling system.
Here's the way to make sure you do not have a air bubble causing your problem.
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Do not warm the engine up before bleeding the cooling system.
Both the 1.8 and 2.1 have a valve to bypass the thermostat to help get the air out.
There is also no reason to raise the front of the van and in fact that makes bleeding the system harder as the pump will have to lift higher.
Here is a procedure that works

Get a helper
Fill main coolant expansion tank.
Fill slowly, allow time for coolant to the fill engine and as many hoses as possible.
Open both heater valves and the small bypass valve if possible.
Start engine. Increase speed to ~2,000 rpm.
Use screwdriver or something to hold throttle open.
Keep eye on expansion bottle, keep it full.
Have friend open bleeder on radiator.
Keep filling expansion tank.
When coolant is coming out of radiator, close bleeder.
Install pressure cap and connect the hose.
Make sure the cap is good, if in doubt replace it with a new or known good one.
It is always toasted after any overheating due to the plastic valves or seals melting.

Allow engine to return to idle speed. Close bypass and heater valves.
Add coolant to reserve tank.
Watch for the next day or two. Level will go down as any air remaining is purged out.

You are done.
All this should be done in ~5 minutes.
Once the engine gets warm, bleeding is difficult due to the coolant vaporizing.
It is hard to remove gasses once you have steam.

If the cooling system is working properly, any air remaining will work
out after a few heat cool cycles. If not, you have a bad pressure cap, a
leak somewhere, or the head gaskets are leaking internally. If still
overheating, check the thermostat and radiator. Of course, make sure the
fan is working properly.

[orion]

Thanks guys! I think my vanagon may have a bad fan switch, but I haven't overheated. A little hot in traffic though... I have a VW friend under the impression that due to the long length of coolant lines overheating is inevitable.

I was just curious if this was a standard modification, but it sounds like a new radiator and good maintenance is all it will take for peace of mind!

[ricksvw]

I would try the procedure Jim posted, you may not need a new radiator!
It's real easy to check the radiator coolent level, remove the cover on the front of the van-one that surrounds the headlights, and crack the bolt on the top of the radiator with a wrench and wait till you see antifreeze. Do make sure the expansion tank is full before and if you do get a lot of air coming out before you get coolant then that could have been a cause of hot temps=real easy fix, you can feel the radiator after warmup for cold spots= where the coolant isn't getting to=clogged.
I don't think that an aux pump would be a bad idea though! I always drive with one eye on the temp guage, especally with a full load, in the middle of summer and climbing hills. I gotta try to get the lead out of my foot... I remember reading that on the air cooled motors that the oil was actually a method of cooling the motor, a new oil change could make a difference in running temps too!

[orion]

The other appeal of this assist motor is that you can wire it so it will stay on even if the engine is turned off. If you are sitting in traffic or just climbed a hill, you could give it a rest and still circulate coolant.

[Jim]

Make sure the fan is working and do the bleed before you make any mods.
Mine ran hot for years before I fixed both, now even with a utility trailer the temp needle never gets above the overhead bulb.
One mod that is worth doing anytime is adding a switch to run the fan when you want it on. I flip that switch whenever I'm in traffic or crawling up a dirt road.
FYI: If you have A/C, working or not, turning the switch on should start the radiator fan on low.
Hey if all else fails, crank the heat... that'll bring the engine temp down for sure.

[ricksvw]

Wooo Hooooo, I use the ac switch sometimes eventhough I know I don't need to.

OK I have a brake question, my rt front brakes hum a little while braking, is that an early warning for pad replacement or should I replace now?

Are you taking the westy next weekend Jim?

[Jim]

Wooo Hoooo, I use the ac switch sometimes even though I know I don't need to.

OK I have a brake question, my rt front brakes hum a little while braking, is that an early warning for pad replacement or should I replace now?

Are you taking the westy next weekend Jim?

You might just have a cooked & glazed up pad... Vanagon brakes are notoriously undersized for the beast. I'd take the pads off that side and sand down them down if they're shiny.

Yep, we're taking the Westy next week... and a propane heater! :wink:

[Lostsailr]

wait...a/c that's air cooled to me :lol:

so glad that is one issue I'll not have to face w/ the 77westy.
I did have to drive some creek freaks from camp into town one year, as their reserve bottle ruptured as we pulled into camp at the same time. Glue and duct tape to get to a real repair/parts dealer.

water cooled? yup...when it's raining!

[Jim]

Back when I went to fests in the late 80s & tried to camp with the VWs, they always made us park way out on the end "because you're water-cooled"
By the end of the weekend we'd always have folks crawling under the Westy when they realized it was a Syncro.

[ricksvw]

You know your a vw freak when you crawl on the ground to see what's underneath! I hope my VW runs forever!:V: